All prescription medications are accompanied by a doctor's directions for the frequency and amount of each dose to be consumed by a patient. Many medications must be taken daily in order to be effective, some at multiple intervals during the day. Other medications are only taken as needed, but a patient or care giver needs to know when the last dose was taken to prevent over-dosing. Some of the hazards associated with incorrect consumption, commonly called noncompliance, of medications include prolonged illness, ineffectiveness of the medicine, hospitalization, commitment into a nursing home facility, and death. All of the aforementioned hazards eventually result in increased health care costs to patients and society as a whole.
Several medicine dose tracking devices are currently available to consumers. Some comprise a container with compartments for multiple doses per day of the week. Others provide an indicator for each day of the week, either on the container closure or on a label placed inside the container whereby each dose of medicine is sealed in an individual packet and dispensed by pushing through a layer of foil. Other devices track the number of times a container has been opened. Each of these devices has limitations.
Devices that track only the day of the week do not provide any way to track multiple doses per day, unless the medicine is packaged in a foil-lined packet. A foil-lined packet with multiple doses per day is impractical when there are two or more doses per day, because a prescription for longer than a few days requires a package of considerable size, even for the smallest of pills.
Multiple compartment containers allow patients to place multiple medications together or single, multiple-dose medications into compartments according to the number of doses per day. Although such containers are common, they violate the legal requirement that medications must be stored in properly labeled containers. In addition to the labeling requirement, there are no child safety features and no remedy for displacement of medication, for example falling out of the container; mixing of the doses of medication; or incorrectly dispensing the medication into the container.
Devices that track the number of times a container is opened present several difficulties. Devices currently available do not provide for opening the container and not taking a dose. Further, there is nothing to help track when the last dose was taken or when the next dose is due, and no way of tracking the quantity of medicine dispensed when the container was opened. In addition to the dosage tracking limitation, available container caps and other constructions are generally round in shape, which do not prohibit the container from rolling off of the surface upon which it was placed.
The present invention comprises a dosage reminder cap which overcomes the foregoing and other difficulties which have long since characterized the prior art. In accordance with the broader aspects of the invention, a dosage reminder cap contains a dial which is rotated and set to indicate either the last day and dose when the medication was taken or when the next dose is due.
In accordance with more specific aspects of the invention, a dosage reminder cap for a medicine container comprises a hexagonal shape with each day of the week and multiple doses per day displayed thereon. A round disk with a small window cutout (window disk) is recessed into the hexagonal cap and is affixed therein. The user rotates the window disk clockwise until the desired day and dose is revealed through the window.
The hexagon shape of the cap prevents the container from rolling and falling off the surface upon which it was placed. The hexagon shape also makes the cap easier to grip and therefore easier to open. The cap is further equipped with a child safety feature for deterring a child from removing the cap from the container and thereby gaining access to the contents thereof.